Abu Dhabi, April 7 (IANS/WAM): Forbes Middle East has released the names of the 100 richest Arab personalities in the world, the first position going to Saudi ArabiaÂ’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud with an estimated fortune of $22.6 billion.

While Joseph Safra occupies second spot with $17.3 billion, the top 10 this year include members of the United Arab Enmirates' (UAE) Al Ghurair family and EgyptÂ’s Mansour and Sawiris.

Despite plunging oil prices, the worldÂ’s top 100 Arab tycoons have continued to build their fortunes, amassing a combined wealth of $174.37 billion, an $8.3 billion increase from 2014.

The number of billionaires has risen too - 49 feature this time around, four more than last year with shared wealth of $155.1 billion, up $7.4 billion from the previous year.

The full line-up of Forbes global billionaires, comprising a total of 1,826 names, accounts for an aggregate net worth of $7.05 trillion.

"Bill Gates presides over the ranking this year, with $79.2 billion, up $3.2 billion from last year, a position he has held for 16 out of the past 21 years."